Minimum wage country profile for The Netherlands
Information for this page was compiled during December 2025 and early 2026. Most Member States had already transposed the EU minimum wage directive at this point. Those that had not yet fully completed transposition or where the information was not yet publicly available include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Poland and Portugal. These profiles will be updated consecutively as the information becomes available. Users are invited to contact our experts on minimum wage if they are aware of changes.
This profile describes how minimum wages are regulated and set in the Netherlands. It can be read as background information for Eurofound’s annual review of minimum wage setting series. The Netherlands has a national statutory minimum wage (minimumloon), which is (almost) universally applicable.
The main actors involved in the setting of the minimum wage are the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (Centraal Planbureau, CPB), which calculates the average expected growth of collective employment wages, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, SZW) which then sets the minimum wage based on this formula. In exceptional circumstances, the government can be involved if a special increase is required. This happened for the first time in 2023, but not in 2024 or 2025.
The process of setting the statutory minimum wage follows the standard procedure established by the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (BWBR0002638, Article 14). Twice a year (in January and July) the minimum wage is adjusted to the average expected growth of the collective employment wages. This expected growth is calculated by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (Centraal Planbureau, CPB). A fixed formula is then used to transform this expected growth into the adjustment of the minimum wage. This follows standard procedures: the government generally does not have any direct influence on the adjustment of the minimum wage levels. This process is legally established and is based on a set formula and can only be deviated from during extenuating circumstances (which are also legally defined in Article 14.5). The minimum wage adjustment, as calculated on the basis of the predefined formula, is then formally set by the Ministry of Social Affairs by Decree.
Year 2023 was the first during which a special increase has been implemented since the introduction of the minimum wage in 1969. Debate on raising the minimum wage generally takes place in Parliament, with other actors such as social partners voicing their opinions in the media. Due to exceptionally high inflation and its impact on Dutch people's disposable income, the government decided on Budget Day to raise the minimum wage all at once. It was considered necessary to give people on lower and middle incomes perspective and make them more resilient against (possible) financial setbacks. In 2024 and 2025, no such special increase occurred.
Because of the special circumstances, the minimum wage adjustment can be regulated through a General Administrative Order (AMvB) instead of a legislative amendment. An AMvB can be realised faster and also means that all benefits linked to the minimum wage, such as social assistance, will automatically rise with itopens in new tab.
According to article 14.1 of the Minimum Wage Act, twice a year (1 January and 1 July) the minimum wage is adjusted based on the average expected growth of the wage levels as established in a basket of collective labour agreements. This expected growth is calculated by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (CPB). A fixed formula is then used to transform this expected growth into a change of level for the minimum wage:
half of the development of so called ‘contract wages’ i.e. the wage specified in individual employment contracts, by law or collective agreement. It is also sometimes called ‘gross wage’, ‘base wage’, or ‘contract wage’. This means the average of the percentage development of collectively agreed wages in the private sector, the public sector, and the public/private sector (which includes subsidised private institutions, such as hospitals, for example). For each year when the decision is being taken, this evolution of contract wages in the current year is estimated in the publication of the Macroeconomic Outlook from the previous year.
and the difference between: a) the development of contract wages in the previous year as published in the Central Economic Plan in that year; and b) the development of contract wages in the previous year as published in the Macroeconomic Outlook in that year.
Criterion | How is this defined/operationalised? | Regulation or practice |
Average expected growth of the collective employment wages | a) half of the trend in collective employment wages as estimated for the year in question, as published in the Macroeconomic Outlook in the previous year; and b) the difference between the trend in collective employment wages as estimated for the previous year, as published in the Central Economic Plan in that year, and the trend in collective employment wages as further estimated for the previous year, as published in the Macroeconomic Outlook in that year. | Minimum wage and minimum holiday allowance act, Article 14.1 |
In addition, for the event of any extraordinary policy-driven adjustment and for the four-yearly assessment of minimum wages, Article 14(16) of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (Wml) formally codifies four criteria for evaluating the minimum wage level:
The purchasing power of the minimum wage, taking into account the cost of living
The general level of wages and their distribution
The rate of wage growth
National productivity levels and long-term developments
They were introduced into the law in the context of the transposition of the EU Minimum Wage Directive and are the (former) elements from Article 5(2) (a)-d) of the directive. The CJEU ruling in November 2025 annulled the respective paragraph of the EU directive, however.
The amendment to the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act that transposes the EU Minimum Wage Directive specifies that indicative reference values are to be determined by ministerial regulation (Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment) and shall be used as guidance when assessing whether the minimum wage is adequate.
The Ministerial regulation from 18 February 2026 establishing indicative reference values for the minimum wageopens in new tab establishes two indicative reference values:
1. absolute dimension (living standard): The net disposable income of full-time minimum wage earners amounts on average to 128% of necessary living costs. This value was determined based on a comparison (using budget data from the National Institute for Family Finance Information, Nibud) of net disposable income of minimum wage earners (including wages, tax credits, allowances, and child benefits) against necessary living expenses, across six representative household types.
2. relative dimension (wage distribution): The gross statutory minimum wage amounts to 50% of the median wage. This is tracked by the OECD and is based on gross amounts only (no fiscal corrections). The underlying figure was 49.14% (2023 OESO data); 50% was chosen as a rounded reference value.
The values are assessed as part of the four-yearly evaluation of the adequacy of the minimum wage.
The minimum wage is universally binding, as stipulated in Article 7 of the Minimum wage and minimum holiday allowance act. Both Dutch and foreign employers and employees in the Netherlands must comply with the rights and obligations it entails. The minimum youth wage applies to young people aged between 15 and 21 (as described in the next section).
There are two exceptions, as stipulated in Article 10:
1. The Minister can allow employers or organisations representing employers or employees to pay a lower minimum wage for certain groups of workers in a business or industry if the business or industry's survival or operations are at serious risk. This approval can include specific conditions. However, a decision will only be made if the requesting party has consulted with employee or employer organisations that the Minister considers representative.
2. The Minister can also decide, without being asked, to set a lower minimum wage for certain groups of workers who mainly provide domestic or personal services in private households.
The minimum youth wage is applicable to individuals aged 15 to 20, with the full rate coming into effect for those aged 21 and above. This is defined in the Minimum Youth Wage Decree (BWBR0003599). There are also sub-minimum rates for apprentices and disabled workers. No changes were made in the past five years in how these rates are determined. The only change is the shift from a monthly to an hourly rate as of 3 January 2024, which applies to all rates including sub-minimum rates.
The percentage rules for the different age groups are as follows (Minimum Youth Wage Decree, Article 2):
Age | Percentage of minimum wage |
21 years and older | 100% |
20 years old | 80% |
19 years old | 60% |
18 years old | 50% |
17 years old | 39.5% |
16 years old | 34.5% |
15 years old | 30% |
The minimum wage rate has been defined per hour as of 3 January 2024 (Article 8 of the Minimum Wage Act). Until the end of 2023, there was a monthly rate, as well as a calculation of how this translates to a weekly rate and a daily rate. Hourly rates depended on the length of the full-time work week, which can vary per sector in accordance with the applicable collective agreement. A full working week was between 36 and 40 hours in the Netherlands for 2023. However, this system changed as of 2024. Since then, a minimum hourly rate is in place for all workers, derived from a 36-hour working week (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2023b). With this change, all previous specifications regarding working hours or monthly payments have disappeared. As of January 2026, the hourly rate is € 14.71.
As stipulated in art. 6 of the Minimum Wage Act, the minimum wage in the Netherlands consists of one's basic wage and the following additional components: compensation for additional work or overtime, supplements, remuneration and tips. The total of these amounts may not be less than the statutory minimum wage to which one is entitled. The definition of the ‘basic’ rate is the wage which is stated in one’s employment contract. Income that does not count towards the minimum wage includes holiday pay, profit allowances, special benefits (for example a benefit one gets from time to time for turnover one has achieved), benefits one only gets later and under certain conditions (for example pension and savings schemes to which the employer contributes), allowances for expenses one had to incur for one's work, year-end bonuses. All these components one should receive on top of one's minimum wage.
Under art. 6 of the Minimum Wage Act, only specified earnings components count towards the statutory minimum wage; reimbursements for work-related costs such as housing and health insurance are excluded from the definition of wage. However, art. 2a of the Decree on the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance allows employers to deduct costs for employer-provided accommodation and statutory health insurance from the statutory minimum wage, provided that (i) the worker has given written authorisation, (ii) the accommodation meets prescribed quality standards, and (iii) the total deduction for housing does not exceed 25% of the statutory minimum wage. Without such an agreement, housing and insurance costs must be paid on top of the statutory minimum wage.
Components that count towards the minimum wage | Description |
(Basic) wage | This is the wage stated in one’s employment contract. |
Compensation for additional work or overtime | Extra work or overtime are the hours one works more than stated in one's contract. Or if one works more hours than the working week counts in one's industry or organisation. Workers are also entitled to the statutory minimum wage for these hours. |
Supplements | Supplements are for example for performance, shift work or irregular working hours. |
Remuneration | Fixed (weekly or monthly) rewards for the turnover one makes. |
Tips | These are remunerations from third parties (i.e. not from the employer) arising from one's work. Tips may only count towards SMW if a worker and their employer have agreed on this. In absence of such an agreement, tips must be paid in addition to the minimum wage. |
The Macro Economic Outlook (Macro Economische Verkenning, MEV) is an important study by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) to forecast and analyse medium-term economic developments in the Netherlands. The MEV report is published annually in September and forms the basis for the next year's budget.
CPB (2024), Macro Economische Verkenning 2025PDFopens in new tab.
CPB (2023), Macro Economische Verkenning 2024opens in new tab.
CPB (2022), Macro Economische Verkenning 2023opens in new tab.
CPB (2021), Macro Economische Verkenning 2022opens in new tab.
CPB (2020), Macro Economische Verkenning 2021opens in new tab.
CPB (2019), Macro Economische Verkenning 2020opens in new tab.
The Central Economic Plan (Centraal Economisch Plan, CEP) is a CPB publication published annually in March/April. This publication presents the economic outlook for the current and coming year.
CPB (2024), Centraal Economisch Plan 2024PDFopens in new tab.
CPB (2023), Centraal Economisch Plan 2023opens in new tab.
CPB (2022), Centraal Economisch Plan 2022opens in new tab.
CPB (2021), Centraal Economisch Plan 2021opens in new tab.
CPB (2020), Centraal Economisch Plan 2020opens in new tab.
CPB (2019), Centraal Economisch Plan 2019opens in new tab.
Centraal Planbureau (2020), Effecten verhogen minimumloonopens in new tab.
I&O Research (2020), Minimumloon naar 14 euro per uur? Onderzoek naar het verhogen van het wettelijk minimumloon, in opdracht van FNVPDFopens in new tab.
I&O Research (2023), Herhaalmeting Onderzoek minimumloonopens in new tab.
Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid (2023), Evaluatie wettelijk minimumloon 2023opens in new tab.
Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid (2025), Verkenning wettelijk minimumjeugdloonopens in new tab.
Nibud (2020), Meer bestedingsruimte bij een hoger minimumloonPDFopens in new tab.
Panteia (2013), Stukloon op de werkvloer, resultaten van een kwalitatief Onderzoekopens in new tab.
Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (2023), Verhoging van minimumloon en bijstand als wondermiddel voor welvaart en welbevinden van de lage inkomensgroep?opens in new tab.
SEO (2018), Verkenning effecten aanpassing minimum(jeugd)loonopens in new tab.
SEOR (2019), Budgettaire effecten van verhoging van het minimumloonopens in new tab.
Steenks, Heyma & Vervliet (2025), The Effects of Dutch Youth Minimum Wage Increases on Income Inequalityopens in new tab
Van Bezooijen, Van den Berge & Salomons (2024), The Young Bunch: Youth Minimum Wages and Labor Market OutcomesPDFopens in new tab
August 2026
30 January 2026
